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Jeremiah Kraye
Captain Jeremiah Kraye is a Cygnaran warcaster in the service of the Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service. In previous centuries, salvation or doom was heralded by the sound of galloping hooves on the battlefield. The modern battlefield boasts the more fearsome sound of warjacks shaking the earth underfoot, but the meaning is unchanged. Captain Jeremiah Kraye of the Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service blends these old and new fighting disciplines into a doctrine of rapid, devastating assault. Kraye prefers to strike against an exposed flank or harass an enemy’s reinforcements, and he instills his warjacks with unprecedented mobility and crushing momentum. History Jeremiah Kraye was born on 565 AR in Western Midlunds, northwest of Fort Whiterock to a distinguished military family with strong ties to Cygnaran cavalry traditions. His father Sheridan Kraye retired a colonel after serving Vinter IV, and his grandfather Nathan is widely regarded as one of the finest generals to serve King Vinter III, noted for making extensive use of light cavalry for reconnaissance.No Quarter #41 At the urging of his father Kraye enrolled in Strategic Academy in Point Bourne as a cavalry cadet in 581 AR. In 582 AR Kraye’s warcaster talents manifested and his training regimen was adjusted accordingly. During this time Kraye developed the ability to augment the speed of both heavy and light warjacks he commands. His ability to push 'Jacks beyond the conventional limits of speed and fuel consumption as well as his graduation with top honors and completion of his training at the Strategic Academy in exemplary fashion resulted in him being assigned to Commander Adept Birk Kinbrace at the request of Chancellor of the Strategic Academy at Point Bourne. Kraye spent only an abbreviated tour of four months with Commander Kinbrace. After this period, Kinbrace took the unprecedented step of recommending that Kraye complete a self-directed regimen to finish his training among the Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service. The then head of the CRS Lt. Commander Velan Langway was a close friend of Kinbrace and Kinbrace personally notified Langway of Kraye and his abilities. His early career coincided with the Scharde Invasions, but he did not join in the fighting where many other warcasters gained considerable glory and renown. He served instead with Cygnar’s often-overlooked border defenders. As Cygnar allocated more and more forces to the Broken Coast, it had fewer soldiers to guard the hundreds of miles of borderlands. The cavalry proved vital, and Kraye demonstrated he had the mettle to deliver crushing blows to the enemy. He learned how to make do with whatever supplies and resources the army could provide and often relied on foraging to survive. He always found a way to achieve victory against all odds.Forces of Warmachine: Cygnar Command MK3 Cygnar knew that Khador would see the Scharde Invasions as an opportunity to test their defenses and potentially mount an offensive. As such, the depleted border forces including Kraye and others in the CRS served a vital if often forgotten role defeating several Khadoran border incursions. After the Scharde Invasions the general climate in Cygnar worsened as King Vinter IV focused his attention on internal matters. This is a time most noted for the dark turn of the Inquisition in particular, transformed more fully into an instrument against the Crown’s enemies. Although Kraye was far removed from such politics, he was not immune from its consequences. Kraye was forced on occasion to work with the sorts of ruthless blackhearts that occupied the border regiments in those days, including disreputable mercenaries like the Talon Company. Personal letters from Kraye to his uncle at this time express the young warcaster’s extreme dislike of these men and their methods. One of the most pivotal moments of Kraye’s career occurred in 589 AR. His uncle, Harlan Kraye, who was outspoken in his disapproval of the Inquisition, was convicted of treason and executed. When the news reached Kraye, he resigned his commission immediately, leaving the CRS and the Cygnaran military. After his resignation scattered reports of a rogue warcaster aiding certain officers of the CRS all suspected of treason by the Inquisition to escape their pursuers and vanish into the wilds of northern Cygnar began to appear. In one incident a party sent to capture Velan Langway, Kraye's former commander was found dead, killed by blade and rifle fire as well as shells from a Charger warjack. Saxon Orrik who was at this time serving as a special unranked advisor to the Inquisition believed Kraye to be responsible. Following the Lion’s Coup, King Leto and his advisors made every effort to return those officers wronged by Vinter to the fold. Scout General Bolden Rebald the new head of the CRS spent much time and effort locating Kraye and personally urged King Leto to reinstate him. Kraye was reinstated as a captain in 595 AR. Shortly after Kraye was reinstated, the CRS began an intensive search for Vinter loyalists and particularly remnants of the Inquisition. Kraye avenged his uncle by running many Vinter loyalists to ground including members of the Inquisition sought sanctuary with the Church of Morrow by joining the Order of Illumination such as Lerik Oden who brought charges against Kraye's uncle and Bann Kallon, an executioner under Vinter Raelthorne IV’s regime well known for his ability to prolong the suffering of his victims during interrogations using torture and was the executioner of Harlan Kraye. He brought his extensive experience along Cygnar’s borderlands to the Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service during the early days of that fledgling organization. With Cygnar’s defenses once more stretched thin, Captain Kraye remained busy leading forces from one battlefield to the next. Kraye is an outspoken man of intelligence and education. His refined breeding shows through despite his grimy, road-weary appearance. He enthusiastically debates military history, tactics, and strategy but has no patience for politics and claims no ambition to higher rank. He has a unique rapport with his trusted and expertly trained warhorse Malagant, who responds with almost empathic awareness to his rider’s will. Malagant heeds subtle shifts in weight and pressure as instructions to rear up and shred enemies with strikes of hi s iron-shod hooves. Kraye requires no accolades or praise for his service to the army and his king, only the opportunity to lead his ’jacks to war and deliver swift retribution against Cygnar’s enemies. He was one of the few warcasters available to help defend Fharin at the end of the Second Cygnaran Civil War, fighting to forestall a Protectorate army allied to Vinter that threatened to burn the city to the ground. He has adapted to the crowning of Julius, persuaded that the youth is a very different man from his father. Officers who have fought beside him claim Kraye can find the best fighting ground anywhere along Cygnar’s borders, which he roams as a tireless and vigilant guardian. He needs only his horse, his warjacks, and soldiers courageous enough to plunge into peril when he sounds the charge. References Category:Warmachine Category:Cygnar Category:Warcaster Category:Humans